


The Island

by Lesphantom



Category: Original Work
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-11-13
Updated: 2018-11-13
Packaged: 2019-08-23 02:53:43
Rating: Mature
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,397
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/16610513
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Lesphantom/pseuds/Lesphantom
Summary: A family secret....   The island has the answers.





	The Island

The Island

Lizette sat in the lawyer’s office waiting room. She busied her self with counting the stars on the awful wallpaper lining the office walls. The longer she waited, the more anxious she became. She began wringing her hands together. She glanced up at the slowly ticking clock and she saw that only ten minutes had passed.

“Lizzie, go on back.” the receptionist said, flatly, popping her gum.

“Thanks Jenny.” said Lizette.

Lizette walked back to her lawyer’s office. The hallway seemed to continue on into eternity. She continued down the hallway and she made a hard left. She went down to the last office on the left hand side and she knocked on the door before she let herself in.

“Hey, Liz!” a male voice said. “Thanks for comin’ in on a Sunday.”

“Is that why Jenny’s such a joy out there?” said Lizette. “I just left church when I got your call, so… What’d you find out Rex?”

Rex sighed. “That notebook your mom left you… it held some weird stuff. It was all written in Egyptian.”

“Yeah. That’s mom! You translated it right?” Lizette said.

“Mostly. The notebook demands that you and I go on a trip to a deserted island. Everything’s laid out so matter of fact…. And it’s SOOO secretive.” said Rex, flipping through the notebook.

“It even includes Sarah.”

“Your sister?! You’ve gotta be kidding me, Rex...”

“Gotta admit, I’m a little curious about all this….”

“Curiosity killed the cat, Rex.” Lizette said, snatching the notebook from him. “There’s even a map in here...”

“Wanna go?” Rex said. “Uh, yeah! Come on now. How long have you known me?”

“23 years and counting...” said Rex.

“C’mon. It’s an adventure!” Lizette said. “Do you have enough lout with the company to take some time off?”

“I haven’t lost a case since I was hired on… They can give me some time off…” Rex said. “I wouldn’t miss it.”

“Then let’s do it!” Lizette said.

Two weeks later, Lizette and Rex were loading suitcase after suitcase into the small ferry boat. Beads of sweat formed on Rex’s forehead and he looked up on the deck. Rex’s sister, Sarah was sitting on her cell phone taking selfies. Lizette tapped Rex. He looked over at Lizette and he pointed at Sarah. Lizette shrugged and rolled her eyes.

“What the hell did you pack Sarah?! The whole damn house?!” said Rex.

Sarah looked up from her phone. “Gotta be prepared, you know? You never know if we’re going to be stranded on that island.”

“Good God, Sarah! It’s a ferry boat! The guy’s gonna drop us off and then he’ll pick us up in a week or so.” said Rex.

“Let’s just go!” said Lizette.

Rex and Lizette loaded into the boat and the captain drove off into the wind. Rex joined Sarah on the upper deck. He leaned over to her and they began talking in hushed whispers. Lizette, on the other hand, sat a few feet away from them, flipping through the note book. She began reading the translation that Rex had written in.

_Upon arriving at the island, walk 50 paces north. Then turn to the east and walk 35 paces. Then to the west 15 paces. You should arrive at a large building._

“It’s a treasure map of some kind...” Lizette said.

“Great…. I’ll be lounging on the beach.” said Sarah.

“Sarah, this is not a vacation.” Rex said.

“You’ve got a part in this too, Sarah.” Lizette said.

“Listen… ‘Once you arrive at the building swap the two bird statues and enter the secret entrance. Sarah and Lizette should be standing on the two platforms in the next room. The secret will be revealed.’ You and I are important in some way.”

“Ugh. Probably because we were born so close to each other. You’re what 11 months older than me?” said Sarah.

“11 and a half.” said Lizette.

“Either way, I don’t feel like running a marathon to find your family secret...” Sarah said.

“Well too bad… Like it or not we need you.” said Rex.

“Ugh...” said Sarah.

“Sorry, Liz. I know my sister is a pain.” said Rex.

“It’s fine Rex…” said Lizette.

Lizette continued to read the words in the notebook as they arrived at the island. Rex and Lizette unloaded all of Sarah’s bags onto the beach. Rex waved off the captain of the ferry, ensuring he had the correct coordinates for his return journey. Rex and Lizette began pitching their tents while Sarah began sunbathing.

“Will you get off your ass and help us?” said Rex.

“Not my circus, not my monkeys.” said Sarah.

“I’m gonna kill her, Liz. I’m gonna fuckin’ kill her...” said Rex.

“Rex, calm down. It’ll be OK.” Lizette said.

“Ugh… I need a beer...” said Rex.

“Right?!” said Lizette. “I’m going to get right down to business.”

“Already?” said Rex. “At least relax a bit first. This heat is atrocious...”

“I’ve got water in my bag Rex. You and Sarah relax...” said Lizette.

“You’re sure?” said Rex.

“Positive.” said Lizette with a smile. “Don’t get burned.”

“No promises.” said Rex with a grin. “Holler if you need us...”

Lizette nodded. “Yep.”

Lizette threw her stuffed messenger bag over her shoulder and she began the trek into the densely populated woods area. She pulled a water bottle out of her bag and she took a large gulp. Rex was right; it was really warm out. She stowed the bottle back in her bag before continuing to walk the first fifty paces north.

“48…49...50! Alright.” Lizette said.

She sighed and she pulled a compass out of her bag. She looked down at it and she turned eastward. She walked the 35 paces and then turned westward to walk the last 15 paces. True to the word, there was a large building in front of Lizette. She grinned. Lizette looked all around the sandstone building. She spotted two bird statues on the far left side. She grinned. She took a deep breath and she swapped the two statues. The stone slab underneath the birds slid downward revealing a secret entrance. Lizette looked around and she walked down the steps.

The room was vast. Lizette noticed that there were more sandstone blocks around the whole room. There was a layer of white sand on the ground at her feet. She looked around the room for the two metal discs mentioned in the notebook. She brushed the sand off of nearly everything in the room before she found them and she lightly touched them. They were cold to the touch. She nodded and she made her way back out of the building. She swapped the birds back again and the door closed. She then walked back out to the beach, just as the sun was setting.

Rex was passed out on the beach, snoring softly. Sarah was finishing up tanning her back before the sun disappeared beyond the horizon. Lizette walked over to her tent. Rex stirred at the sound of the zipper.

“Liz?” Rex said.

“Yeah?” said Lizette.

“Were you successful?” Rex said with a groan.

“Yep. Just need Sarah to go with me tomorrow and we’ll knock this out.” said Lizette.

“Then will you relax for once?” said Sarah.

“Yeah. Then I’ll relax...” said Lizette.

“What’s the plan then?” said Rex.

“Um… it’s still in progress.” said Lizette.

“Dinner first then.” said Rex. “I’ll go catch Sarah and I a fish or two.”

“Yuck!” said Sarah.

“Sarah...” said Rex.

“I’ll just call for take-out.” said Sarah.

“Uh, Sarah? We’re in the middle of nowhere hon? We’re hundreds of miles from civilization… There is no take out...” said Lizette.

Sarah looked mortified. “No...”

“Sorry sis.” Rex said with a chuckle.

“Lizzie...” Sarah whined.

“Don’t whine to me...” Lizette said.

“You’re the vegetarian here!!! Got anything…?” said Sarah.

“I’m not giving you the food I came with Sarah. Just eat the fish.”

“Ew.”

Rex rolled his eyes. “Keep her in line for a while, will ya’?”

“On it.” said Lizette.

Rex walked off toward the water. Sarah joined Lizette by her tent. Lizette was flipping through the notebook. Sarah raised an eyebrow.

“So… your mom was… Egyptian?” Sarah said.

“Yeah.”

“What’s with the notebook anyway? And the Egyptian writing inside?”

“Well, my mom’s always been a bit secretive. She and my father divorced when I was young and to prevent him from knowing her true feelings about it, she wrote it in Egyptian. When she passed away, she left this for me to find. Thank God for your brother...”

“Yeah. He worked hard to translate all that for you.”

“Yeah… and quite honestly I don’t know how to repay him for it. To find out a family secret is a big deal to me.”

“Glad we could be of assistance.” said Sarah.

Lizette nodded. “Yeah. Though, I don’t know why exactly we’re staying her a week. It won’t take long to get that door open if we do it right.”

“Because of the beach, duh! And… the fact that Rex has a crush on you...”

“Sarah...”

“What? He does!”

“That’s not why...”

“That is exactly why. You really think that a guy like Rex would put nearly everything he was doing on hold to translate a book full of Egyptian words for you cuz he’s just your friend?”

“Well...”

“No. He loves you girl!”

“Sarah...”

“I’m back!” said Rex. “And I brought fish!”

Sarah rolled her eyes as she stood and walked toward her brother. “I’ll eat it, but I won’t like it….”

Rex grinned. “Good.”

Rex built a small fire and he began cooking the fresh fish. Lizette grabbed an apple from her bag. As she munched on the apple, she thought about what Sarah had said. Did Rex really like her?

Rex passed Sarah a plate of freshly cooked fish. Sarah ate silently with Rex eventually settling down behind her. Rex glanced over at Lizette and he let out a small sigh. Sarah grinned.

“She knows.” Sarah said.

“What?”

“She knows you like her. I told her.”

“Sarah!!”

“That’s what you get for making me eat fish. And besides, you would have never said a word to her about it and you know it.”

“Ugh! You didn’t have to tell her though!!!”

“Too late!”

“Dammit, Sarah!” said Rex.

“You’re welcome!” said Sarah.

Rex ran a hand through his black hair. Sarah was going to make him go grey earlier than he already was. He glanced over at Lizette again. He smiled a little.

“Guys, I’m going to retire a little bit early tonight.” said Lizette.

“Really? You never go to bed early, Lizzie.” said Rex.

“Yeah.” said Sarah.

“Yeah, I know. But I figure the sooner I go to sleep, the sooner I get to get up. And go check out that secret room.” said Lizette.

“You’re that excited Liz?” said Rex.

“Yeah...” said Lizette.

“Sarah, what do you say we help Liz out?” said Rex.

“Hell with it! Let’s go now!” said Sarah. “I just wanna relax!”

Lizette laughed. “Right. Here we go..”

Lizette pulled her messenger bag back on her shoulder. She led Sarah and Rex through the wooded forest, stopping and waiting for Sarah as needed. Rex was already starting to lose his cool. Lizette placed a hand on his forearm.

“It’s gonna be OK, Rex.”

“Sarah’s gonna send me to an early grave, I’m telling you...” said Rex.

Lizette laughed. “Just breathe. And that’s her job, y’know.”

“Yeah, yeah, yeah.”

The three walked the final fifteen paces and they arrived at the building. Rex smiled slightly as he walked around the perimeter of the small building. Sarah looked at Lizette for guidance.

“Look for bird statues. They should be on the left side of the building.”

“On it.” said Sarah. “How’d this building get here anyway?”

“More importantly, what was it used for?” Rex said.

“Found ‘em!” Lizette said, swapping them. “Door’s open!”

“Come on, Sarah.” said Rex.

Rex and Sarah followed Lizette inside and they stood in awe. Lizette pulled her phone out of her bag and she turned the flashlight on. She found the metal discs once more. She smiled and she stood on one of them.

“Hey Sarah! Go stand on the disc over there, please!”said Lizette.

“You got it.” said Sarah.

The minute Sarah stood on the disc, the room lit up like a Christmas tree. A second door swung open in front of them. Lizette ran for the door. Inside the room was a small box and a letter addressed to Lizette sitting on a small white pedistal. Lizette tore open the letter.

_Liz,_

_You found it honey! The family secret… You have a sister. You may be wondering who or where she is… Well, you’ve actually known her for quite sometime… Most of your life actually. It’s Sarah. You know… Sarah Roberts. Rex’s sister. That’s why she had to stand on those discs in the other room._

_In the box is proof that you are sisters. So… You may be wondering how this is possible._

_You don’t remember it, but I got pregnant with Sarah soon after you were born. Like almost immediately after you were born. I had to give her up for adoption. Little did I know that the person who would adopt her was Rex’s mom. I had to keep it from you my love. Rex knows. He arranged most of the things you see before you. I had to trust someone…_

_Remember my darling, I will always love you._

_Love, Mom._

Lizette stared at the letter. She slipped the letter in her bag and she flipped open the box. Various medial records and blood tests along with a few pictures populated the box. Lizette read every single one of them.

“Holy shit...” said Lizette.

“She finally told you...” Rex said with a smile, standing in the doorway.

“How long did you know?” Lizette said.

Rex’s smile widened. “A week before your mother died, she came to my office. She spilled everything.”

“How’d you react?”

"I was pretty shocked." said Rex

Lizette smiled. “To be honest, I’m glad she’s my sister… and you’re not my brother.”

“Why’s that Liz?”

“Cuz… I… kinda like you, Rex.”

Rex laughed. “Well, I kinda like you too, Liz.”

“Ready to go relax this week with your sister?”

“Yeah. That sounds great!”


End file.
